WHO releases a report confirming the outbreak and raise the pandemic alert.
Egypt becomes the first country in Africa to report a confirmed case of swine flu to WHO.
the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing global spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. A Phase 6 designation indicates that a global pandemic is underway.WHO is still working to inform countries exactly what phase 6 means and to avoid a "blossoming of anxiety" once a pandemic is declared.
As of Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 27 people had died of the swine flu in the US, and there were a total of 13,217 cases spread across all 50 states.
US experts had been expecting the WHO's declaration of a swine flu pandemic and the country is well prepared, officials said Thursday, adding a vaccination drive might start later in the year.
President Barack Obama "has always treated this as a very serious issue," said White House spokesman Bill Burton.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security said those agencies have been acting for weeks as if Phase 6 were already in effect and no additional measures would be put into effect.
The United States declared a public health emergency April 26.
